A conventional lever shifting device for a bicycle, supporting an operating lever for a derailleur rotatably to a fixing member having a lever shaft, is well-known, provided with the lever positioning mechanism comprising a positioning member with a a plurality of engaging positions and an engaging member engageable with at least one engaging position, and with the friction mechanism for applying to the lever a rotational resistance against a return spring at the derailleur.
The applicant of the present invention has filed Japanese Patent Application No. Sho 59-67,163 which discloses a lever shifting device for a bicycle, provided with the positioning mechanism and friction mechanism.
This device disposes the positioning mechanism and friction mechanism around the lever shaft supporting the operating lever spaced apart axially thereof from each other, so that a mounting screw can be tightened or loosened to selectively switch both mechanisms to engage each other in operation, or a distinct switching mechanism for the positioning mechanism can be provided separate from the mounting screw to thereby adjust the mounting screw to switch the friction mechanism from an operative state to an inoperative state.
Such device, however, is provided with the positioning mechanism and friction mechanism separate each from the other and axially shiftable, thereby creating the problem that the device is complicated in construction, is time consuming in production and assembly, has a high manufacturing costs, and is both large-sized and heavy in weight.